Otto von Bismarck, the powerful diplomatic deal maker of 19th century Europe, is famously quoted as saying that politics is “the art of the possible.” Horticulture, by contrast, could be defined as ...

Everyone loves bellflowers. They belong to the Campanulaceae family, an appropriate appellation since campanulate is the botanical term for bell-shaped flowers. It harkens back to those Italian campa...

As summer arrives, gardeners seek out those plants that, despite day after day of scorching heat to come, will bloom without interruption for the next several months. One of the best summer bloomers ...

Planting flowers in midsummer may be the last thing on your mind, yet this is the precise moment for maximizing the effect of certain bedding plants that bloom abundantly no matter how hot it gets. A...

A tangy radish, a broccoflower and a brussels sprout. These cruciferous edibles would quite a salad make, but when it comes to pretty garden plants, I would choose to grow a cousin of theirs, the swe...

Recent Posts

Coprosma ‘Tequila Sunrise’ I have known gardeners who were obsessed with variegated plants. Their gardens were devoted exclusively to these schizophrenic beauties. Variegated refers to plants with leaves possessing more than one color. ...

If you want to enjoy the pleasure of viewing a large variety of lesser known plants arranged in distinctive garden designs, without having to visit a botanical garden, I suggest you take a walk up and down the streets of Santa Monica, especially in t...
Santa Monica Sightings

I have a persimmon tree purchased 9 years ago. In the past 3 years, the fruit hasn’t grown larger than a grape, changing color but not expanding in size. The tree receives sun all day long. Will I ever again see any full-size fruit from this ...

A gleaming oak tree from the Southeast and an iconic weed from Russia are thriving in Balboa Park. The park entrance is located on the east side of Balboa Boulevard, between Burbank and Victory Boulevards, in Van Nuys. The tree in question is southe...

About The Author

Welcome to The Smarter Gardener. I'm Joshua Siskin and I've been writing about plants and trees for the Los Angeles Daily News for over 20 years. If you have any questions or comments, please send them along. I have published more than 1,000 articles on plants and I am currently in the process of loading them onto this site. My goal is to make it possible for you to learn about any of the plants in your garden by doing a search of this site.